So Different but Still So Much the Same
by OceanIris98
Summary: All this time…from the moment he saved her life, wrapped his warm, comfortable scarf around her neck…from the moment he took her by the hand and led her out of the cold black darkness of night and into a new life, a new loving family, she had loved him.


_So Different but Still So Much the Same_

_As seen on my Tumblr, OceanIris98_

He turned his head to the side eagerly as his door creaked open, the light from the hall illuminating his darkened bedroom and the face of the little girl that entered it.

She closed the door quietly and made her way over to his side, and he looked up at her in sleepy concern.

"Mikasa," he rubbed his eyes and yawned, "is something wrong?"

The little girl stood there quietly, her long white nightgown flowing past her knees and his worn tattered scarf wrapped securely around her neck. Her straight and shiny black hair framed her face loosely, and her beautiful dark eyes glistened with unshed tears.

"Come here," Eren mumbled sleepily, lifting up his blanket and patting the open space in the mattress next to him.

Without hesitation, the young girl climbed into the bed next to the boy and curled up alongside him.

"Are you going to tell me what's wrong, or can I go back to sleep?" He asked her as he covered them both up with the blanket.

And then, he heard her speak in a voice so quiet he had to strain his ears to hear her.

"I'm scared, Eren," she whispered, the tears now rolling down her cheek as she buried her face into his shoulder.

And she felt him wrap his arms around her gently with a childlike innocence.

"I know," he whispered back, "but I'm here for you Mikasa. We're a family, okay?"

She nodded silently into his chest, and wrapped up in his warm embrace, she fell asleep to the melody of his heart beating against her ear.

**XX**

_Six years later._

She wasn't quite sure when exactly it had happened.

In fact, it probably had been happening for a long time. A slow, gradual process, six years in the making, and now, for the first time, the truth finally hit her.

She loved him.

And not in the sisterly way that she had so desperately tried convince other people and even, perhaps, herself that she did.

No. She was _in love_ with him.

All this time…from the moment he saved her life, wrapped his warm, comfortable scarf around her neck…from the moment he took her by the hand and led her out of the cold black darkness of night and into a new life, a new loving family, she had loved him.

And in this shitty world full of death and despair, she still had him. And even though she had lost everything she possibly could have to lose, he was still there. And now, he had promised her that he would always be with her. That they would always be together. And just like that cold rainy day six years ago, his words gave her new life.

And as the tears dripped off her chin, she realized how incredibly thankful she was for that.

Because she needed him. Because she loved him.

And in that moment, with fresh emotions rushing through her already physically and emotionally exhausted body, Mikasa allowed herself to feel happiness. Because she was in love with him.

And maybe… just maybe there was a chance that he was in love with her too.

**XX**

Eren breathed heavily as he leaned back against the hard wooden door. Mikasa, recovering from her wounds, rested just on the other side.

Since when did he feel this way about her? How could he be so blind? So oblivious to her feelings for him and even more oblivious to his own?

But in that moment, when she thanked him, looked at him with eyes shining with true love and gratitude, the realization of what she meant to him hit him hard.

Because she wasn't just his family or his best friend. She wasn't just some broken little lost girl he took in.

She was Mikasa. The person who cared about him more than anyone else in the world. The person who would do absolutely anything to ensure his safety. The person that, without even realizing it, he had fallen completely and irreversibly in love with.

And he just couldn't understand how he could have missed that.

He knew that he didn't treat her as well as he should, and he knew that he wasn't very good at expressing his feelings, but that didn't mean that he didn't care about her.

He absolutely hated seeing her risk her life for him. He hated seeing her stronger than him. Watching her save him time and time again. He hated it.

Because he should be the one looking out for her. He should be the one saving her life, begging her not to die, holding her hand as she cried.

As his mom had reminded him all those years ago, he was the one who should be protecting her.

And as he carried her away from that hell, as she was too injured to move or protect him, he realized that just like him, she needed protecting. And for the first time in a long time, he had been the one taking care of her.

He sighed and pushed himself up off the ground, facing the door in front of him, and lightly grabbing the knob, he turned it and opened the door.

**XX**

Their eyes immediately met when he entered the room, and for the first time ever, Eren took a moment to realize how exceptionally beautiful she was.

Her dark, shoulder-length hair blew gently in the breeze from the open window and glistened in the sunlight, and her face, her eyes, lit up with happiness at the sight of him. He felt his heart stop for a moment when he noticed how stunning she really was.

And then he noticed the unshed tears glistening in her eyes, and within seconds he was by her side.

"Are you…are you okay?" He asked quietly, sitting down in the empty chair next to her bedside. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine, Eren," she smiled back, touched at his concern for her.

Hesitantly he reached out for her hand, just like she always did when he needed her to.

"I was worried about you," he managed to say as he shakily lifted her hand up to his lips. "I was so worried," he choked, trying to suppress a sob.

"Eren…"

"Please," he looked up at her, the tears now flowing freely down his face, "please don't ever give up like that again, Mikasa. Never give up. We're gonna make it. Together. Okay?"

She nodded silently and pulled on his arm, silently pleading for him to lie down next to her for a little while.

And so he curled up next to her, just like when they were little.

And even now, when everything was so different, they were still the same. Just two kids who found comfort in each other.

And they didn't need to say it out loud to know how much they meant to each other. How much they loved each other.

And then, he heard her speak in a voice so quiet he had to strain his ears to hear her.

"I'm scared, Eren," she whispered, the tears now rolling down her cheek as she buried her face into his shoulder.

And she felt him wrap his arms around her gently and with a childlike innocence.

"I know," he whispered back, "but I'm here for you Mikasa. We're a family, okay?"

She nodded silently into his chest, and wrapped up in his warm embrace, she fell asleep to the melody of his heart beating against her ear.

_Ebba. _


End file.
